Lufthansa Partnership with Air Berlin to Begin Next March

Deutsche Lufthansa and Air Berlin announced that their long-term collaboration will begin next March.

The partnership involves a six-year agreement under which Lufthansa will wet-lease as many as 40 aircraft that will be operated by Air Berlin crews for both Eurowings and Austrian Airlines.

The deal will allow Eurowings to expand its current services. The German low-cost carrier currently operates a fleet of 90 aircraft and the wet-lease arrangement will add an additional 35, which will fly in Eurowings livery. Austrian will lease five Air Berlin aircraft as well.

Air Berlin will base the new planes at seven airports in Germany as well as in Vienna and Palma de Mallorca, Spain, while Austrian’s will be based in Vienna.

The wet-lease agreement, which covers 29 Airbus A320 and up to 11 A319 aircraft, goes into effect March 26, 2017, and means that Air Berlin will provide cockpit and cabin crews in addition to the aircraft and maintenance services.

Neither Lufthansa nor Air Berlin disclosed the exact terms of the agreement but both said it would be at “competitive market” rates. Both parties expect the deal to close by the end of 2016, subject to regulatory approval.

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